Query based electronic battery tester

ABSTRACT

An electronic battery tester for testing a storage battery provides a test output indicative of a condition of the battery. Electronic measurement circuitry provides a measurement output related to a condition of the battery. The battery condition is determined based upon one or more responses to one or more queries provided to an operator. The responses are used to determine battery type.

The present application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/415,399, filed Oct. 2, 2002,and Ser. No. 60/415,796, filed Oct. 3, 2002, and the present applicationis also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct.2, 2002, now abandoned, which claims the benefit of Ser. No. 60/330,441,filed Oct. 17, 2001, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to measuring the condition of storagebatteries. More specifically, the present invention relates toelectronic battery testers which measure condition of storage batteries.

Electronic battery testers are used to test storage batteries. Variousexamples of such testers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,911,issued Mar. 25, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTINGDEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708, issued Sep. 30, 1975, to Champlin,entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,768,issued Mar. 28, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTINGDEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,170, issued Apr. 25, 1989, to Champlin,entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGESCALING; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,038, issued Nov. 14, 1989, to Champlin,entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGESCALING TO DETERMINE DYNAMIC CONDUCTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,416,issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTINGDEVICE WITH STATE-OF-CHARGE COMPENSATION; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,269,issued Aug. 18, 1992, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC TESTER FORASSESSING BATTERY/CELL CAPACITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,380, issued Aug.30, 1994, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING TIME VARYINGSIGNALS IN BATTERIES UNDERGOING CHARGING OR DISCHARGING; U.S. Pat. No.5,572,136, issued Nov. 5, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITHAUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,355,issued Nov. 12, 1996, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION ANDCONTROL OF THERMAL RUNAWAY IN A BATTERY UNDER CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No.5,585,416, issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FORSTEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No.5,585,728, issued Dec. 17, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITHAUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,757,issued Dec. 31, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGINGBATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,093, issuedJan. 7, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE LOOSE TERMINALCONNECTION DETECTION VIA A COMPARISON CIRCUIT; U.S. Pat. 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No. 6,332,113, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitledELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,102, issued Feb. 26,2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM TESTER; U.S. Pat. No.6,359,441, issued Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER;U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,303, issued Mar. 26, 2002, entitled ALTERNATORDIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,414, issued May 21, 2002,entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,669, issued Jul.9, 2002, entitled SUPPRESSING INTERFERENCE IN AC MEASUREMENTS OF CELLS,BATTERIES AND OTHER ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS; U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,158, issuedJul. 23, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTICTESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No.6,441,585, issued Aug. 17, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FORTESTING RECHARGEABLE ENERGY STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,158,issued Sep. 3, 2002, entitled VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TESTER WITHENCODED OUTPUT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,045, issued Sep. 24, 2002, entitledINTEGRATED CONDUCTANCE AND LOAD TEST BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER;U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,025, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled ALTERNATORTESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,026, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitledPROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS ANDBATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,993, issued Mar. 18, 2003, entitledELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,078, issued Apr. 8, 2003,entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH INTEGRATED CURRENT SENSOR; U.S. Pat. No.6,556,019, issued Apr. 29, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER;U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,883, issued May 20, 2003, entitled ELECTRONICBATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,941, issued Jul. 1, 2003, entitledBATTERY TESTER WITH DATABUS; U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,150, issued Jul. 22,2003, entitled METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING JUMP-START BOOSTER PACKS; U.S.Ser. No. 09/780,146, filed Feb. 9, 2001, entitled STORAGE BATTERY WITHINTEGRAL BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/756,638, filed Jan. 8, 2001,entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROMCOMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/862,783, filed May 21,2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIESEMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 09/960,117, filedSep. 20, 2001, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No.09/908,278, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH EMBEDDEDENVIRONMENT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/880,473, filed Jun. 13, 2001;entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/940,684, filed Aug. 27,2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN ANELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/330,441, filed Oct.17, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT;U.S. Ser. No. 60/348,479, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled CONCEPT FORTESTING HIGH POWER VRLA BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct.29, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S.Ser. No. 09/993,468, filed Nov. 14, 2001, entitled KELVIN CONNECTOR FORA BATTERY POST; U.S. Ser. No. 09/992,350, filed Nov. 26, 2001, entitledELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/341,902, filed Dec. 19,2001, entitled BATTERY TESTER MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/042,451, filedJan. 8, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, U.S. Ser. No.10/073,378, filed Feb. 8, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS USING ACIRCUIT MODEL TO EVALUATE CELL/BATTERY PARAMETERS; U.S. Ser. No.10/093,853, filed Mar. 7, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITHNETWORK COMMUNICATION; U.S. Ser. No. 60/364,656, filed Mar. 14, 2002,entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH LOW TEMPERATURE RATINGDETERMINATION; U.S. Ser. No. 10/098,741, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitledMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Ser. No.10/112,114, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/109,734, filed Mar.28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,105, filed Mar. 28, 2002, entitled CHARGECONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,998, filedMar. 29, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY REPLACEMENT OUTPUT;U.S. Ser. No. 10/119,297, filed Apr. 9, 2002, entitled METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLELSYSTEMS; U.S. Serial No. 60/379,281, filed May 8, 2002, entitled METHODFOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE; U.S. Serial No. 60/387,046,filed Jun. 7, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING THELIFE OF A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/177,635, filed Jun. 21,2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGER WITH BOOSTER PACK; U.S. Ser. No.10/207,495, filed Jul. 29, 2002, entitled KELVIN CLAMP FOR ELECTRICALLYCOUPLING TO A BATTERY CONTACT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/200,041, filed Jul. 19,2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE;U.S. Ser. No. 10/217,913, filed Aug. 13, 2002, entitled, BATTERY TESTMODULE; U.S. Serial No. 60/408,542, filed Sep. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERYTEST OUTPUTS ADJUSTED BASED UPON TEMPERATURE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/246,439,filed Sep. 18, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER UPGRADE USING SOFTWARE KEY;U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,399, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled QUERY BASEDELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; and U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct. 2,2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S.Ser. No. 60/415,796, filed Oct. 3, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONICBATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/271,342, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitledIN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 10/270,777, filed Oct. 15,2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCEOF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,515, filed Dec. 5, 2002,entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,490, filed Dec. 5,2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,385,filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE, U.S. Ser. No.60/437,255, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled REMAINING TIME PREDICTIONS,U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,224, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled DISCHARGEVOLTAGE PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 10/349,053, filed Jan. 22, 2003,entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A BATTERY FROMOVERDISCHARGE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/388,855, filed Mar. 14, 2003, entitledELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY FAILURE TEMPERATUREDETERMINATION, U.S. Ser. No. 10/396,550, filed Mar. 25, 2003, entitledELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/467,872, filed May 5, 2003,entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE, U.S. Ser. No.60/477,082, filed Jun. 9, 2003, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER, U.S. Ser.No. 10/460,749, filed Jun. 12, 2003, entitled MODULAR BATTERY TESTER FORSCAN TOOL, U.S. Ser. No. 10/462,323, filed Jun. 16, 2003, entitledELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER HAVING A USER INTERFACE TO CONFIGURE APRINTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/601,608, filed Jun. 23, 2003, entitled CABLEFOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/601,432, filed Jun. 23,2003, entitled BATTERY TESTER CABLE WITH MEMORY; U.S. Ser. No.60/490,153, filed Jul. 25, 2003, entitled SHUNT CONNECTION TO A PCB FORAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM EMPLOYED IN AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE, U.S. Ser.No. 10/653,342, filed Sep. 2, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTERCONFIGURED TO PREDICT A LOAD TEST RESULT, U.S. Ser. No. 10/654,098,filed Sep. 3, 2003, entitled BATTERY TEST OUTPUTS ADJUSTED BASED UPONBATTERY TEMPERATURE AND THE STATE OF DISCHARGE OF THE BATTERY, U.S. Ser.No. 10/656,526, filed Sep. 5, 2003, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FORMEASURING A PARAMETER OF A VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, U.S. Ser. No.10/656,538, filed Sep. 5, 2003, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER WITH ENCODEDOUTPUT, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

It is known that the condition of a battery can be provided by comparinga rating of the battery with a measured value. However, other techniquesfor providing a battery test could provide additional informationregarding battery condition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and apparatus for testing a storage battery provides a testoutput indicative of a condition of the battery. A condition of thebattery is determined based upon at least one response of an operator toat least one query and a measured parameter of the battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an electronic battery tester inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the battery tester of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a simplified flow chart showing steps in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram which illustrates various battery types.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of electronic battery tester 16 inaccordance with the present invention. Apparatus 16 is shown coupled tobattery 12 which includes a positive battery terminal 22 and a negativebattery terminal 24. Battery 12 is a storage battery having a pluralityof individual cells and a voltage such as 12.6 volts, 48 volts, etc.

FIG. 1 operates in accordance with the present invention and includeselectronic test circuitry 2 which is configured to measure a parameterof battery 12 through first and second connections 8A and 8B. In oneembodiment, circuitry 2 is dynamic parameter parameter measurementcircuitry configured to measure a dynamic parameter of battery 12through Kelvin connections 8A and 8B. Dynamic parameter measurementcircuitry 2 can measure a dynamic parameter, that is a parameter whichis a function of a signal with a time varying component, of battery 12and provide a measurement output 4 to calculation circuitry 6. Exampledynamic parameters include dynamic conductance, resistance, reactance,susceptance, and their combinations. Calculation circuitry 6 receivesthe dynamic parameter output 4. In some embodiments, circuitry applies aload test which may or may not also include measuring a dynamicparameter. In an load test, the Kelvin connections may not be required.

A memory 8 is coupled to calculation circuitry 6 and contains aplurality of user queries related to battery condition and a pluralityof query relationships which relate to a response from a user to one ormore queries and to the measurement output from the measurementcircuitry 2. A query is provided to a user through query output 9 asexplained in greater detail below. A query response is received from theuser through query response input 13 and provided to calculationcircuitry 6. Based upon the relationship stored in memory 8, the queryresponse, and the measurement output 4, calculation circuitry 6determines a battery condition. This condition is based upon at leastone of the plurality of query relationships stored in memory 8. Thequery relationships can be in the form of a decision tree whichidentifies a particular battery type based upon the query response(s).The battery condition can also be a function of an optional batteryrating received through an input, for example the same input 13 used toreceive the query response. Calculation circuitry 6 provides a batterycondition output 11. The output 11 can be output to other circuitry ordisplayed locally, for example on output 9.

In various aspects of the invention, the battery test output can bevarious relative or absolute indications of a battery's condition. Theoutput can be pass/fail, percent charged related to battery state ofhealth, capacity, or other output related to battery condition.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of circuitry 16 which operatesin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention anddetermines a dynamic parameter such as the conductance (G_(BAT)) ofbattery 12 and the voltage potential (V_(BAT)) between terminals 22 and24 of battery 12. Circuitry 16 includes a forcing function (such ascurrent source 50), differential amplifier 52, analog-to-digitalconverter 54 and microprocessor 56. In this embodiment, dynamicparameter measurement circuitry 2 shown in FIG. 1 generally comprisessource 50, amplifier 52, analog to digital converter 54, amplifier 70and microprocessor 56. Calculation circuitry 6 generally comprisesmicroprocessor 56. The general blocks shown in FIG. 1 can be implementedas desired and are not limited to the configurations shown in FIG. 2.Amplifier 52 is illustrated as capacitively coupled to battery 12through capacitors C₁ and C₂. Amplifier 52 has an output connected to aninput of analog-to-digital converter 54. Microprocessor 56 is connectedto system clock 58, memory 60, pass/fail indicator 62 andanalog-to-digital converter 54. Microprocessor 56 is also capable ofreceiving an input from input device 66. The input can be the queryresponse input 13, a rating of the battery, or other data as desired.Output 67 can be a local display for displaying queries, batterycondition, etc.

In operation, current source 50 is controlled by microprocessor 56 andprovides a current in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 2. Thiscan be any type of time varying signal. Source 50 can be an activesource or a passive source such as a resistance. Differential amplifier52 is connected to terminals 22 and 24 of battery 12 through capacitorsC₁ and C₂, respectively, and provides an output related to the voltagepotential difference between terminals 22 and 24. In a preferredembodiment, amplifier 52 has a high input impedance. Circuitry 16includes differential amplifier 70 having inverting and noninvertinginputs connected to terminals 24 and 22, respectively. Amplifier 70 isconnected to measure the open circuit potential voltage (V_(BAT)) ofbattery 12 between terminals 22 and 24. The output of amplifier 70 isprovided to analog-to-digital converter 54 such that the voltage acrossterminals 22 and 24 can be measured by microprocessor 56.

Circuitry 16 is connected to battery 12 through a four-point connectiontechnique known as a Kelvin connection. This Kelvin connection allowscurrent I to be injected into battery 12 through a first pair ofterminals while the voltage V across the terminals 22 and 24 is measuredby a second pair of connections. Because very little current flowsthrough amplifier 52, the voltage drop across the inputs to amplifier 52is substantially identical to the voltage drop across terminals 22 and24 of battery 12. The Kelvin connections can be “split” and do not allneed to be connected directly to the battery terminals 22 and 24. Theoutput of differential amplifier 52 is converted to a digital format andis provided to microprocessor 56. Microprocessor 56 operates at afrequency determined by system clock 58 and in accordance withprogramming instructions stored in memory 60. Memory 60 can also storethe relationship tree used to identify battery types.

Microprocessor 56 determines the conductance of battery 12 by applying acurrent pulse I using current source 50. This can be, for example, byselectively applying a load such as a resistance. The microprocessordetermines the change in battery voltage due to the current pulse Iusing amplifier 52 and analog-to-digital converter 54. The value ofcurrent I generated by current source 50 is known and is stored inmemory 60. In one embodiment, current I is obtained by applying a loadto battery 12. Microprocessor 56 calculates the dynamic conductance ofbattery 12 using the following equation: $\begin{matrix}{{Conductance} = {G_{BAT} = \frac{\Delta\quad I}{\Delta\quad V}}} & {{Equation}\quad 1}\end{matrix}$where ΔI is the change in current flowing through battery 12 due tocurrent source 50 and ΔV is the change in battery voltage due to appliedcurrent ΔI.

Microprocessor 56 operates in accordance with the present invention anddetermines a condition of battery 12 based upon a determination of thetype of battery obtained through query responses. The data output can bea visual display or other device for providing information to anoperator and/or can be an output provided to other circuitry.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart 100 showing operation of microprocessor 56 basedupon programming instructions stored in memory 60. Block diagram 100begins at start block 102. At block 104, a query is provided to theoperator. This can be, for example, retrieved from memory 6. At block106, the query response is obtained. At block 108, if the query responsehas not led to an identification of battery type, control is passed toblock 104 and further query responses are obtained. Once the batterytype is identified, control is passed to block 108 and the battery istested at block 110 as a function of dynamic parameter and thedetermined battery type.

Some prior art battery testers have compared a battery measurement to afixed value, such as a rating of the battery in order to provide arelative output. For example, by comparing a measured value of thebattery with the rating of the battery, an output can be provided whichis a percentage based upon a ratio of the measured value to the ratedvalue. However, the present invention recognizes that in some instancesit may be desirable to provide a battery test which is a function ofbattery type.

As used herein, a dynamic parameter of the battery is a parameter whichhas been measured using an applied signal (either passively or actively)with a time varying component. Example dynamic parameters includedynamic resistance, conductance, reactance, susceptance and therecombinations both real, imaginary and combinations.

Based upon the measured dynamic parameter and the determined batterytype, a test output is provided. Examples of a test outputs include anend of life prediction for the battery which can be in the form ofmonths, seasons or other forms; a state of health or state of chargedetermination; a predicted number of engine starts of the vehicle whichthe battery can perform; a predicted number of charge and dischargecycles which the battery is capable of experiencing, a prediction oftime to reach an end voltage based upon current draw and temperature; apredicted time to charge the battery based upon charge current andtemperature; a prediction of the largest current at which a load testapplied to the battery can be passed; a prediction of the reservecapacity of the battery; a prediction of the number of amp-hoursremaining in the battery, or others.

The test output can be shown on a display, used to provide pass/failinformation or passed along the other circuitry.

Battery tester 16 is configured to test a number of different types ofstorage batteries. The queries contained in memory 8 (or 60) can relateto questions which will yield answers from an operator which areindicative of a particular type of battery. For example, the circuitry 6can query an operator with questions related to the presence, number, orconfiguration of vent caps present on a battery. The presence andlocation of any hoses connected to the battery, particular visiblemarkings or colors of the battery, particular brand information of thebattery, etc. Based upon the response to these queries, memory 8contains a relationship tree which indicates a particular algorithm foruse by calculation circuitry in testing the battery. For example, if theresponses to the queries indicate that the battery is a flooded battery,the test algorithm which is selected may be different than if the queryresponses indicate that the battery is a gel cell type battery. Ingeneral, such queries can be related to the physical construction of thebattery which can be observed by an operator.

FIG. 4 is an example of a query decision tree which can be used toidentify the type of battery under test. FIG. 4 illustrate two maintrees, vented lead acid and sealed lead acid. Within each of these maintrees are various subgroups of batteries. Through a series of queries,such as what is the color of the battery, what descriptors are on thebattery, does the battery have caps, what do the caps look like, is theliquid level within the battery visible, is there a “magic eye” visibleon the battery, what type of brand labeling is present, what is theshape of the battery or cells within the battery, etc., the calculationcircuitry 6 is able to walk through the decision tree shown in FIG. 4.As the operator responds to queries, the calculation circuitry 6 is ableto specifically identify the type of battery under test. Once theparticular battery type is determined, the calculation circuitryperformed a test on the battery which is a function of the determinedbattery type. This allows the test to be tailored for the particulartype of battery. An example of a user query is “Does the battery havevents?”, “Does the battery have caps?”, “Are the caps round or square?”,“What is the color of the battery case?”, etc. The user input can be,for example, selected from a number of options. The user input can beselected, for example, by touching the desired response on a screen,scrolling through the set of desired responses, pressing a button whichis associated with the desired response, or other techniques.

The present invention may be implemented using any appropriatetechnique. For simplicity, a single technique has been illustrateherein. However, other techniques may be used including implementationin all analog circuitry. Additionally, by using appropriate techniques,any dynamic parameter can be measured. Further, in some embodiments, thetest is not based on a dynamic parameter or is based on multipleparameters. With the present invention, a desired output level of thebattery is obtained, for example through an input.

Various types of batteries include vented lead acid, sealed lead acid,vented lead acid, spiral, deep cycle, electrolyte gel cells, absorbedglass matt, valve regulated lead acid, Orbital brand, starting, lightingignition batteries, Optima brand, sealed flooded, antimony, and hybrid.In one embodiment, if battery type cannot be determined, the batterytester will assume that it is a AGM battery type.

Although the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. For example, date codes, weight, logos orother indicia can be used in identification. The tester can provide agraphical display to assist in the identification of battery type.

1. A method of testing a storage battery, comprising: querying anoperator with a query regarding an observable physical characteristic ofthe battery; receiving a query response from the operator related to theobservable physical characteristic; determining battery type based uponat least one query response received from the operator; and testing thebattery based upon a measurement of a parameter of the battery and theat least one query response received from the operator.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 including retrieving the query from a memory.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 wherein the memory contains a relationship between a queryresponse and a battery type.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein theparameter comprises a dynamic parameter.
 5. The method of claim 1including coupling to the battery with Kelvin connection.
 6. The methodof claim 1 wherein the parameter is a function of an applied forcingfunction having a time varying signal.
 7. The method of claim 1 whereinthe testing is based upon a plurality of query responses.
 8. The methodof claim 1 including displaying queries.
 9. The method of claim 1selecting a type of battery test based upon the query response.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the query relates to observable physicalconstruction of the battery.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the queryrelates to a shape of the battery.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein thequery relates to a color of the battery.
 13. The method of claim 1wherein the query relates to caps on the battery.
 14. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the query relates to a tube connected to the battery.15. The method of claim 1 wherein the query relates to a visible liquidlevel of the battery.
 16. The method of claim 1 wherein the queryrelates to a “magic eye” on the battery.
 17. The method of claim 1wherein the query relates to the brand label on the battery.
 18. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprises sealed lead acid.19. The method of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprises vented leadacid.
 20. The method of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprisesspiral.
 21. The method of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprisesdeep cycle.
 22. The method of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprisesan electrolyte gelatin.
 23. The method of claim 1 wherein the batterytype comprises an absorbed glass matt.
 24. The method of claim 1 whereinthe battery type comprises starting, lighting, ignition battery.
 25. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprises sealed flooded. 26.The method of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprises antimony. 27.The method of claim 1 wherein the battery type comprises hybrid.